Following the reported suicide of former senior Israel Police commander Ephraim Bracha, Jerusalem Sephardi Chief Rabbi Moshe Amar Shlita spoke with Mordechai Lavi of Kol Berama Radio on Monday morning to address the matter of suicides in Israel.
The rav began by stating just how serious an act this is, stating R”L one loses one’s share in Olam Haba, stressing he is not speaking of Bracha as an individual but of the act in general. Rav Amar explains that generally speaking this is attributed to who suffers a mental attack of sorts, comparing it to a cardiac incident, in this case a temporarily loses sense of what one is doing. “A person is not baal habayis of his body, which HKBH has given us and we are responsible to maintain it…We are not permitted to do something that we know harms us, as is the case in which the rabbonim are of one view, stating that a particular action is harmful and therefore prohibited”.
The rav stresses the seriousness of the act, stating it is nothing less than murder and possibly even more severe than taking the life of another. He adds that it is worrisome that suicides have increased in Israel, in the IDF and in civilian life as well. He stresses by taking one’s own life, one loses this world and Olam Haba and leaves one’s family in a terrible state, adding that as bad as a situation may appear, for as long as one is alive one can battle and daven for change – stating emphatically there is absolutely no heter for one to ever take one’s own life.
The rav concluded stressing that he is speaking about suicide in general and he is not referring to the later former senior police commander.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
What a thoughtful response, expressing a thoughtful compassion and mature understanding of those who find themselves in tremendously difficult conditions.
Or not. Does anyone really believe for a moment that a person who has come to such a terrible, despondent point in their lives, where they are ready to take their own lives, will say oh right, this will lose me my olam habah? This sort of screed does nothing positive and only disappoints and hurts those who have already been disappointed and hurt too many times.
M
Yes
I’ve been told by more than one person that what prevented them from taking their own life was the fact that it only gets worse after that.
Mr m it is very dangerous to put down our leaders u should consult your Rabbi first
To M
There is a large spectrum of people who commit suicide. You may be right that there may be some who at the point of suicide no longer have bechira to stop themselves as it was just too awful. However I’m fairly sure there are many who could stop themselves despite their situation, but don’t care as much as most people do about ending their lives.
An American psychologist called Thomas Joiner stated that one of the main factors which can cause someone to turn to suicide is fearlessness towards pain and death.
Recently non-Jewish society has become much more accepting of taking ones life, for example for people with terminal illnesses. This affects people. Similarly a high-profile suicide affects people’s attitude towards it. Perhaps Ephraim Bracha didn’t have bechira, but Rav Amar is obviously concerned that his actions may have this affect on society. Thats how he could speak against the idea of suicide generally without having to condemn the actions of anyone specifically.